China says no environmental impact from DPRK nuclear test

BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China has ended an emergency radiation monitoring after detecting no environmental impact from a nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The monitoring, conducted at the northeastern border areas after the DPRK nuclear test on Sept. 3, was ended at 6 p.m. Sunday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP).

No abnormal results were showed after eight days of monitoring, the MEP said.

"A comprehensive assessment has concluded that this DPRK nuclear test has caused no environmental impact on China, and conditions for a termination [of the emergency monitoring] have been met," it said.

All monitoring stations in the border areas and surrounding regions, including the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and Shandong, recorded normal radiation levels as of 6 p.m. Sunday, according to the MEP.

The ministry said it would switch to routine monitoring after the emergency response ended, conducting automatic radiation monitoring and regular sampling analysis at key border areas.

Real-time radiation levels recorded at automatic monitoring stations in and near the northeastern border areas will continue to be made public to address people's concerns, the MEP said.

The China Earthquake Administration reported that a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the DPRK at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 3 with an epicenter depth of zero km, saying that it might have been caused by explosion.

The DPRK's Korea Central Television announced on the same day that the country had successfully detonated an H-bomb, a hydrogen bomb that can be carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile.

China's Foreign Ministry has expressed firm opposition to and strong condemnation of the test.